Greetings everyone, I've been putting my '97 Firebird back on the road. We discovered water in my oil pan in the process of replacing the oil pan, pickup, pump and gaskets. My engine is basically stock (K&N Intake, Hooker Headers, PCM tune) but since we have to pull the heads anyway, what should I be thinking about changing before I put it all back on?

I had been considering an LT4 upgrade kit or something similar, but the effort didn't seem worth it for the gains.

I've got a competent mechanic that I trust to do the work, but he's not a tuner. I'm looking for modest HP gains, and I could spend a couple grand on parts. Where should I start doing my homework?

Thanks!
MD

 

Contact Lloyd Elliott.
great time to drop in new lifters, ported heads and ported intake. Also go up to a full roller rocker.
In the future you can put in a cam and go.

 

That is a great piece of advice. I'm not sure if I have the ability to store my care without heads for 3.5 weeks + shipping. But I will keep that in mind.

Is there anyone doing swaps of pre-built ported heads? I'd probably take this chance to put a ported intake on as well...

Thanks!
MD

 

Lloyd is worth the wait period. I just recently completed an LE2 swap and his work is fantastic.

 

So... I live on the Northern California coast. I swapped this engine in, but incompetently back in 2009. I'm not confident in my ability to pull off the heads & intake in my driveway and ship them out to Texas. I mention the coast because everything not covered in paint (and a bunch of stuff that is) will rust overnight.
I don't have any doubts about Lloyd or the work, more the logistics, care, and feeding of my block.

...which is aluminum... hmmm I may be clinically moronic.

Sometimes a plan gets in your head and it's hard to dislodge. Let me noodle that a bit more.

Thank you!

 

Totally understand. Aftermarket heads come with a higher price and not always in stock either. I also weighed both options. You can check out both AFR and TFS for cost/availability for aftermarket heads. Do you have a tuner? Any aftermarket/LE or otherwise ported head you should retune your car accordingly. Also, depending on far you go the cost goes up fast for all supporting mods.

 

Well, it appears that I don't have a tuner. I can get the software and probably get the PCM programmed for the new heads & intake but without a dyno tune with someone who knows what they're doing I'm just playing with myself.

I called the guys that did my tune last time and they got out of the LT game completely and don't know anyone in the Bay Area that still does these cars. After a few more phone calls the answer seems to be nobody.

Neat. I knew I shoulda put in the Corvette LS instead of a rebuilt LT.

Well, thanks for looking and all of the help. I'll have the head gaskets done and enjoy this beast for the rest of it's foreshortened life as-is.

MD

 

If you want to build the car there are a few solutions for tuning. There are mail order tunes available which can be a shot in the dark, or some will even send you a cable and software for you to use with your personal laptop. This provides them with logs to fine tune according to what your car is doing (better option).

Or you can do what I did and ditch the Opti and convert to a 24x system using an LS PCM. That will open up a world of tuning options for you locally, however cost is much higher for the initial conversion.

 

I like the work you've done! LS ignition was a thought in this process as well. If I was slightly better at turning a wrench and had a little more time to work on stuff myself I would probably head down that route.

Right now my goal is to get it street legal. I thought I might be able to add some horses and get it back on the road, but that bar is too high for now.

MD